The present invention relates to a method for recognizing and sorting articles, such as newspapers, magazines, books, cartons, or boxes with the use of a reading station including an optoelectronic sensor, an evaluation device connected to the sensor and a transporting device which transports the articles underneath the sensor.
Such a method is disclosed in German Patent Application No. P 32 39 938.3 wherein an optoelectronic sensor is used to furnish a rough, limited resolution image of an article. The rough image of the article is compared with a given reference image in an evaluation device which produces a signal which is a measure of the coincidence between the rough image and the given reference image.
In the method disclosed in the above cited German Patent application, the articles are transported on a conveyor belt past an optoelectronic sensor at a speed of approximately 1 meter/second, with the conveyor belt comprising, for example, a plurality of juxtaposed conveyor rollers. This produces a number of problems which come to bear particularly in connection with articles such as newspapers and magazines. One such problem is, for example, magazine flutter which is particularly distinct at the relatively high transporting speeds required to realize a high throughput. Moreover, the articles may lie partially or completely on top on one another and may be transported without being aligned. Additionally, during sorting, i.e. singling out individual articles, impediments may develop due to back-up accumulation.